The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1887-10-05
Rum AND GUNPOWDER IN The
HOLD.
By FRANK II. CONVERSE.

The worst v'y'ge / ever made? You're
asking me hard one, my lad. For
there's different degrees of hard voy-
aging, so to speak.
E'r instance, a sailor ships in one of
these wild packets where the cap'n Is
bully and his officers q couple of shades
worse. From dock to dock it's word
and blow, with the blow two minutes
before the word. If you get ashore
with skin full of whole bones you
haven't had as hard v'y'ge as some
others that goes to the hospital with
smashed jaws or broken limbs
Or mebbe, fool-like, you get inveigled
aboard deep-water whaler, though l
WiU say no regular A b in his sober
senses gets caught that way often.
Two and perhaps three years you're
cruising after sperm, and finally get
into port with part of cargo of oil,
your share not being enough to pay
your outfit bill. That's hard v'y'ge!
And so it goes, which, if the dog
watch wasn't nigh half spent, [ might
keep illustrating of. But L mind one
particler v'y'ge that was hard enough
for me. 1t was this way:
Being American born and bred, I've
mostly sailed under my flag as matter
of principle, dye see? American
sailors being scarce at best, and our
ships fo'csles full of dirty foreigners
for nigh twenty years past, growing
worse ali the time.
/ did make o cruise in Chinee Junk
In '65, but that was entire accident, as
some night I'll tell YOU about. But in
I'D 1 got stranded in London with
wages to the States two pound-teD, and
three-pound-five offered foreign. SO it
came about L shipped in the brig Clara
Desmond bound for the west coat of
Africa.
l knew tolerable we'll what part of
the cargo was like to be, but l was a
little took aback when come to get
fairly aboard see there was young
ish and an older gent which the steward
said was missionaries, goin' out to
mission on the Gaboon River.
The same old story; rum, gun
powder, and missionaries. I'd rather it
were you than me was goin', for you're
old shipmate who came down to see
me off.
But the missionaries wasn't to blame
for the cargo, was they? In point of
fact, as / found out after, they didn't
know what the cargo was, passage hav
ing been engaged for EN- by other par
ties. But there's certain class of
folks always sneering at religion that
likes to represent such things in the
worst kind of light.
1t was in the middle of March, the
toughest time in the year on the
English coast, in my way of thinking.
We had fairish wind through the
Straits of Dover, and then it chopped
round dead with half gale blowing,
and that thick you couldn't see the
briggs length half the time.
There was eight of us before the
mast, she being lump of O brig, for
English owners are more particular
not to have their vessels sail short
handed, as well they may, considering
the starvation wages. Four were
Roosians or Roosian Films, two Irish,
and one-the one which begun trouble
hailed from Australia under the name
of Boxer, which wasn't his right name
any more than mine is Harry Hale.
There's some of us fellows in the fore
castle that amt willing to carry re-
spectacle family name along with us.
Boxer had been paid off from deep
waterman and blowed in something
like fifty pounds inside of three weeks.
So when he come aboard he was that
,shaky Cap'n Gore wouldnA send him
aloft: besides, he was on the ragged
edge of delirium tremens Why, talk
about selling ones soul for drink, after
he'd been aboard six hours Boxer would
have sold his and all his relations to
boot for glass of liquor. Temperance
lectures with illustrations A vessels
fo'csle is where you'll hear and see
'em, and they amt stereopticon views,
either
From the time Boxer found out there
was rum in the hold, l think he grew
crazier. He begged like dog for
Cap'n Gore to give him the least drop,
but the old man was solid against it,
and dosed Boxer with valerian and
such. Boxer kept his bunk, and it was
all hands on deck the biggest part of
the time, so we never mistrusted what
he was up to.
First took much notice of either of
the passengers was when we was three
days out beating down channel under
reefs, somewheres midway betwixt
Cape La Hague on the French coast
and Prawle Point off Devon. The old
est of the two, Mr.. King. was sick, of
course. but this younger one, Mr.
Venn, didn't seem to have an idea of
such thing.
He was a slim, palish sort of chap,
but come to look close at him, l no.
ticed he had considerable muscle and
-sinew under his white skin. And when
all to once he sprung and grabbed holt
of the topsl halyards above the rest
of our hands, and surged down on it
with regular sailor "sing out" "my
fine fellow" 1 says to myself, @your
fingers has been in a tarpot, or lose
my guess"
Being one hand short, Cap'n Gore,
though he opened his eyes tolerable
wide, made no manner of objection to
the passenger taking holt for pull
whenever he liked. And seeing this,